BYU needs to execute against UConn Friday


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PROVO — Hooray, the college football season is ready to begin. I'm OK with pro baseball, but you have to admit that those long summer days are even longer without football. There are now some options to your sports viewing, and for me, BYU football is like recess for third-graders. I just have a hard time waiting for it to get here.

BYU opens the season with the UConn Huskies on the road. Here are my thoughts on what to expect in Friday's game. About 105 players on each team have been practicing long and hard to get ready for this game. Believe me, they will be excited to play on game day. So, let's get started.

UConn is coming off three losing seasons while BYU is coming off eight winning seasons. Don't be totally swayed by the past, each team has many new faces stepping into important roles on both teams. Some of our favorite heroes for BYU are gone, but there are as many as seven freshmen or transfers who are making a difference on the skill level at BYU. There are new heroes in the wings.

BYU will have many new people to follow. UConn has a brand new coaching staff. The ex-defensive coordinator at Notre Dame is now the head coach for the Huskies. BYU is in the dark about what to expect on Friday. New coaches often switch players and add new things to both the offense and defense. The first key to the game pops up from the newness of these two teams. UConn won't know about the new faces on this year's team, and BYU won't know what to expect from offensive or defensive play. The team that guessed right in its preparation for this game will get the early advantage.

Early reports out of Connecticut's fall camp say that the Huskies want to run the ball and control the tempo of games. That doesn't make sense to me. In the last two games last year, which were wins, UConn had its best aerial attacks of the season. This year's starting quarterback threw for 463 yards, and the Huskies have a preseason all-conference receiver who caught 15 passes in that game.

The wide receivers are their best offensive players, so I expect the defensive secondary of BYU to get a solid test early in this game. Key No. 2, BYU's secondary needs to key on Geremy Davis and put good pressure on quarterback Casey Cochran to force bad throws. I think BYU's front seven will handle the run game successfully, which will force UConn to throw, so an alert defense will get lots of chances to make plays.

The third key to watch for is BYU's offensive execution. This game won't be like last year's start against Virginia. BYU learned quite a few things that it changed this year. It is traveling an extra day earlier, its practices have been at a different tempo and have included more team drills, and this is the second year for this offense. These things should lead to a better prepared offense.

The pass game has been a big influence in practice, so there should be rewards with improved play. There is more depth at receiver and in the offensive line. More time to throw and more talent to throw to has to help the offense. This week, Adam Hine will be starting at running back, and coach Bronco Mendenhall awarded him with the "Firestarter Award" this week. I am eager to see Hine get a chance to perform. Unfortunately, there will be some drive-killing penalties that always happen early, but hopefully, they won't be too costly. The offense has the potential to score quickly and often, but again, it's early.

BYU really is going into this game trying to focus on what it can do, not so much on what the Huskies are doing. That's primarily because BYU doesn't really know what UConn will do on offense or defense. BYU has to learn during the game, and we will see how quickly the Cougars can adapt. I'm pumped up to see some football. Finally we can answer yes to the question, "are you ready for some football?"

See you on the radio.

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